"Risk Assessment / Security & Hacktivism Powerful, highly stealthy Linux trojan may have infected victims for years Backdoor tied to espionage campaign that has targeted governments in 45 countries. by Dan Goodin - Dec 8 2014, 12:35pm PST Share Tweet 49 Wikipedia Researchers have uncovered an extremely stealthy trojan for Linux systems that attackers have been using to siphon sensitive data from governments and pharmaceutical companies around the world. The previously undiscovered malware represents a missing puzzle piece tied to "Turla," a so-called advanced persistent threat (APT) disclosed in August by Kaspersky Lab and Symantec. For at least four years, the campaign targeted government institutions, embassies, military, education, research, and pharmaceutical companies in more than 45 countries. The unknown attackers—who are probably backed by a nation-state, according to Symantec—were known to have infected several hundred Windows-based computers by exploiting a variety of...
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"Explore our options What kind of future do we want? The three scenarios are based on different models of how much CO2 we emit into the atmosphere. We can limit climate change through effective policies, energy efficiency and new technologies. By moving the sliders you can increase or decrease energy consumption and the use of different technologies and policy choices. The mitigation pathways will point upwards or downwards and change colour, depending on which range you choose. The red lines show a future with high temperature increases, while the green show a future where we limit global warming to two degrees."
- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"Also, it might seem like a miniscule thing but many PC laptops have shitty, unresponsive touchpads. Macbook touchpads are amazing! Super responsive, and the gesture system when you're working with several windows open feels super Minority Report-y once you get the hang of it. It's easy to overlook the importance of a smooth user interface but when you use your computer several hours a day, often during stressful periods (looking at you, exam week!) it makes a huge difference. permalink save parent report give gold reply [–]mydogisacooldog [score hidden] 6 hours ago Oh yes! I always thought my Dell Latitude trackpad was passible before getting a MBP. Now I can't use the damn thing without getting really, really angry. It's just so finnicky. The material the touchpad on my mac is made out of is so much nicer (very smooth so your finger glides), and the gestures work almost 100% of the time. It's absolutely amazing in difference. That's what I honestly love about iPhones and Macs though...
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- daveeza
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"In addition to Russia's port construction blitz across the Arctic, Moscow is also drastically upgrading its other military capabilities in the region. Galeotti notes that a commando detachment is being trained specifically for the Arctic warfare, and a second Arctic-warfare brigade will be trained by 2017. Furthermore, a year-round airbase is under construction in the New Siberian Islands Archipelago alongside an additional 13 airfields and ten air-defense radar stations. This construction will "permit the use of larger and more modern bombers," Galeotti writes. "By 2025, the Arctic waters are to be patrolled by a squadron of next-generation stealthy PAK DA bombers." In addition to the militarization of the region, Russia has sought to expand its influence in the Arctic through diplomatic means. In October, Russia's natural resources minister said that Moscow would seek to expand its Arctic borders by 1.2 million square kilometers through the United Nations."
- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"The news is based on testimony from a class-action lawsuit against Apple going on this week. Consumers and businesses are suing the company for $350 million, claiming it essentially conducted a price-fixing operation within iTunes. Between 2007 and 2009, if a user had music from a rival service — like Real Networks — on their iPod then tried to sync their iPod to their iTunes library, Apple displayed an error message telling the user to restore the factory settings. Once the user restored their settings, any music from rival services would disappear. Apple wouldn't tell users the problem or that some of their music was gone. "You guys decided to give them the worst possible experience and blow up" a user’s music library, attorney Patrick Coughlin said, according to the Wall Street Journal. Apple says not allowing non-iTunes music onto iPods was a security measure. Apple security director Augustin Farrugia testified that Apple didn't give users a more detailed explanation about what was happening with the factory reset because it didn't want to confuse them."
- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"Unlike product listings elsewhere on eBay, the new section allows the companies to offer a simplified, less cluttered profile pages instead of eBay’s traditional listings, where the businesses can use high-res imagery and video to showcase their products and tell their stories. For eBay, the addition is an example of its ongoing strategy to partner, promote and help merchandize the products from small businesses. “We have a strong commitment to helping small businesses think about channel sales and e-commerce,” says Ramadge. “This is about bringing the power of 152 million active users to them.” eBay will be promoting its new website with a 15% off coupon (CTAKE15) which works only with select retailers, including Supermechanical (Range Thermometer), Gramovox (Gramovox bluetooth gramophone), Automatic (Automatic car adapter), Fluxmob (Fluxmob Bolt), Orbotix (Sphero), and The Orange Chef Co. (Prep Pad)."
- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"he original idea was to broadcast Wi-Fi from the balloons to base stations on the ground. But Google quickly realized that the power limitations outweighed the advantages of the unregulated spectrum. Instead, the company began to partner with telecommunications companies to broaden their existing cellular networks using the same LTE protocol. Essentially, the balloons use a low-cost, low-power version of the same type of LTE node that sits atop a standard cell tower. Google says it can now deliver data at 5 megabits per second to mobile phones, or a zippy 22 Mbps to fixed antennas. For comparison, the average broadband speed in the United States today is about 11 Mbps. By contracting with telecoms to provide the service, Google removes itself from the sales and customer-service end of the cellular-data equation, and from the country-by-country battle for rights to the 2.6 GHz spectrum. The company is famously far more interested in solving complex engineering problems than it is in dealing directly with consumers or lobbying bureaucratic agencies."
- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"he original idea was to broadcast Wi-Fi from the balloons to base stations on the ground. But Google quickly realized that the power limitations outweighed the advantages of the unregulated spectrum. Instead, the company began to partner with telecommunications companies to broaden their existing cellular networks using the same LTE protocol. Essentially, the balloons use a low-cost, low-power version of the same type of LTE node that sits atop a standard cell tower. Google says it can now deliver data at 5 megabits per second to mobile phones, or a zippy 22 Mbps to fixed antennas. For comparison, the average broadband speed in the United States today is about 11 Mbps. By contracting with telecoms to provide the service, Google removes itself from the sales and customer-service end of the cellular-data equation, and from the country-by-country battle for rights to the 2.6 GHz spectrum. The company is famously far more interested in solving complex engineering problems than it is in dealing directly with consumers or lobbying bureaucratic agencies."
- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"Called Fujisawa Sustainable Smart Town, it features homes with solar panels, batteries for storing energy, LED lighting, ride-sharing services and a community center with a cafe and kitchen facility to hold workshops and events. The idea is to create a centralized meeting place for the town’s residents and visitors (see a video of the town). Residents started moving in earlier this year, and the inauguration ceremony celebrated the completion of the community center, which is home to the office of the town’s town management company, which will collect data on the urban designs of the town’s layout, infrastructure and technologies. In December, a Car Life Lab will open for test driving electric cars. There’s land set aside for future development and testing of new technologies. A long list companies in tech, banking, utilities, real estate and community designs are taking part in the project, which aims to produce all the electricity it needs locally (see a video about the project’s big goals and resident testimonies). Panasonic Fujisawa Sustainable City2"
- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"The FSLN-controlled legislative assembly approved the mega-project under a cloud of secrecy in a record seven days. There was no public consultation, no feasibility or environmental studies were presented, and there was no parliamentary debate—a surprising approach given this would be the world’s biggest civil engineering and construction project, traverse the country’s most important fresh water source and destroy protected natural reserves where 22 endangered species live. The 100-year concession agreement, published only in English, gives Jing carte blanche to build and manage the giant waterway, as well as numerous sub-projects including two deep sea ports, a free trade zone, an airport, cement and explosive factories, an electricity plant and upmarket hotels. Or not. The company is indemnified against any delays caused by protests or legal challenges, but Nicaragua would not be compensated if the canal is abandoned. The concession exempts HKND, its subsidiaries and...
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- daveeza
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"Lawlessness also pervades the U.S. economy, more or less legally. Banks lied to and defrauded homebuyers, creating a bubble that led to a catastrophe. (The oft-mentioned "near catastrophe" applies to the banks, not the buyers.) Nothing has changed since. Banks now routinely pay billions in fines, which they build into their costs, since profits far outpace them. No major banker has gone to jail over this. People who miss a payment or jump a subway turnstile do their time. It's the theme of Matt Taibbi's The Divide. I'm not screaming for social justice here. I'm talking about fatuous claims praising a society built on laws. The version that riles me most is deregulation, a weasel word for lawlessness. Deregulation means you abolish rules or simply ignore them. The banks deregulated through Bill Clinton. But environmental rules, food safety, drug and workplace controls have been formally deregulated or, in a subtler way, allowed to lapse through cutbacks in staff, inspection and...
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- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"New superconductor-powered wind turbines could be installed off the coast of Australia within the next five years to finally take advantage of the country’s 35,000 km of coastline, which offers up some of the best wind resources in the world. Developed by a team at the Institute for Superconducting and Electronic Materials at the University of Wollongong in New South Wales, the wind turbines are a significant improvement on current technology. Right now, wind turbines cost about $15 million each to construct, and are super-heavy and tough to ship. They also require a whole lot of maintenance because they're run using a complex, heavy, and costly piece of machinery called a gear box. “In our design there is no gear box, which right away reduces the size and weight by 40 percent,” said lead researcher and materials scientist Shahriar Hossain. “We are developing a magnesium diboride superconducting coil to replace the gear box. This will capture the wind energy and convert it into...
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- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"One must not forget that the central banks themselves, just like the regular banks and corporations, are expendable fronts for those who hold power behind the scenes. And after 100 years of bribing, blackmailing, and killing, the elite families’ Fed parasite has thoroughly subsumed the US Government host. They can now discard the Fed and operate directly from the completely captured federal government. <<< The bottom line is this: regardless of how the new currencies are backed or who prints them, they are slave currencies. Because as long as a small “elite” get to decide how much currency will be circulated, who will receive it, and under what conditions it will be handed out, it remains a system of control. I think it better to devise our own local currencies / trading systems and leave the control freaks behind. In closing, I’ll share some passages I wrote in my second blog about what the globalists will try to do when they roll out the new system (as well as how they’ll start clamping down on us afterwards). From Lightworkers, welcome to the Borg: Basel III and Total Financial Control…"
- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"This is possibly one of the largest foreign military arms deals of recent times for the Lockheed Martin company which manufactures the F35 jets—possibly the most advanced fighter aircraft on earth—and the fact that the controlled media has blacked out the news of the “sale” to Israel, speaks volumes all by itself. About the only other place where one might be able to read of this incredible “deal” is in the Israeli news source YNet News. There, an article announced that: Israel bought 19 F-35s for $2.75 billion in 2010, with delivery scheduled between 2016 and 2018. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, visiting the United States last month, agreed a preliminary deal for 25 to 31 more planes subject to approval by the ministerial committee for defense purchases, sources said. According to YNet News, some in the Israeli government are even having second thoughts—not because of any other consideration apart from the fact that they will not make enough money out of the deal. According to Ynet...
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- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"By: Seamus Payne A Japanese architecture firm has created a photographer’s dream, a bright and functional work space for ambient light photography. This photography studio by FT Architects features translucent wall sections and a large angled skylight to suit the photographer’s work. It is a brilliant purpose-built space, formed in a progressive manner that inspires the eye of its occupant. A common principle of studio photography, and fine art before it, is the use of “key” lighting to illuminate the subject. Often, the key light is placed at a 45-degree angle above and to the side of the subject. This goes back to the days of Rembrandt, whose art showed fading light across the face and a triangular highlight on the cheek of the opposite side. In this photography studio, FT Architects has built this “Rembrandt Lighting” right into the architecture, by creating a large soft box of light angled down toward the studio’s center. In terms of functional design, this photography studio is...
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- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"Governments should sack plans to auction off old television frequencies to the highest bidder and instead use the bandwidth for free super-frequency WiFi if they want to boost the economy, scientists have said. Old television frequencies are becoming available for other uses around the world, thanks to a switch from analogue to digital transmission. However, while governments are for the most part auctioning these off to whoever is prepared to pay the most – usually mobile phone networks – they should instead be using the frequencies to create free-to-use, wide-range WiFi, scientists from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany have said. This new “super WiFi” would have a far wider range than existing WiFi networks, which are mostly transmitted over wireless local area networks (WLAN) at frequencies of 2GHz or above."
- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"The only question that remains is, what is the bloody price that both nations will pay, up until the liberation of the Palestinian people? In 2002, the Arab League adopted the Saudi initiative for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. As such, the Islamic non-Arab countries, adopted this peaceful initiative as well. This initiative in essence extended an olive branch to Israel from the Palestinians and the Arab states, in order to "…see an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and establish normal relations with Israel within the framework of a comprehensive peace agreement." This path will be about Israel’s regional integration peacefully, in turn realising the Zionist dream. With the prolonged occupation, we are not only losing the moral basis for Israel’s existence as a free and just society, but are also seriously jeopardising chances for the state’s sustainable existence. No security by sword alone Israel's security cannot be based solely on the sword, but rather also on...
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- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"Canada’s Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, is reported by a spokesman, to have had the following exchange with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin during the Brisbane G-20 summit: “Well, I guess I’ll shake your hand, but I only have one thing to say to you: you need to get out of Ukraine.” Putin is said to have replied, “Impossible. Since we are not there.” A graceless bit of diplomatic crudity from a truly graceless man, Stephen Harper, someone Canadians know has a history of underhanded practices at home, from introducing ugly personal-attack campaign advertising, using secretive and bullying tactics in parliament, failing to deal with corrupt practices by subordinates especially an American-style election scandal of robo-calls which sent some voters to the wrong polls, to having appointed several unbelievably incompetent and corrupt ministers. He is known for a ferocious temper in private, a very controlling man who grants his political associates absolutely no freedom of expression,...
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- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"The earliest image of heeled footwear that I’ve ever seen so far is a depiction of a heeled boot worn by a horse-ride on a 9th century Persian ceramic bowl. The heel was invented in Near Eastern countries because it’s very good for keeping the foot in the stirrup. For these horseback-riding cultures, the high heel was a highly functional form of footwear—that’s why cowboys still wear boots with high heels today. For centuries, Europeans were fascinated with Near Eastern fashion, but it wasn’t until the 1590s that they became interested in heeled footwear. They had already borrowed a million other things from Near Eastern attire, and in 1590 they decided to borrow the heel. I think it had to do with political and socioeconomic development between Europe—specifically England—and Persia. The Persians had the strongest mounted military in the world, and they all wore heeled footwear. Across Europe, upper-class men embraced the heel and they used it for both its original purpose,...
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- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

Between them, the Israeli and oil lobbies command a lot of attention in the U.S. Congress, a large part of whose members would otherwise accept that President Obama’s standard for an agreement meets the tests of both U.S. security and the security of its partners in the Middle East. But a large fraction of Congress is no more willing to take on these two potent lobbies than the National Rifle Association. Netanyahu will also do all he can to prevent the relaxation of any of the sanctions imposed on Iran. But even if he and his U.S. supporters succeed on Capitol Hill, President Obama can on his own suspend some of those sanctions—though exactly how much is being debated. The U.S. does not have the last word on sanctions, however. The moment there is a final agreement, the floodgates of economic trade and investment with Iran will open. Europeans, in particular, are lined up with their order books, like Americans in 1889 who awaited the starter’s pistol to begin the Oklahoma land rush....
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- daveeza
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"The report suggests that U.S. foreign policy has played a big role in making the problem worse: "The rise in terrorist activity coincided with the US invasion of Iraq," it concludes. "This created large power vacuums in the country allowing different factions to surface and become violent." Indeed, among the five countries accounting for the bulk of attacks, the U.S. has prosecuted lengthy ground wars in two (Iraq and Afghanistan), a drone campaign in one (Pakistan), and airstrikes in a fourth (Syria). The report defines terrorism as “the threatened or actual use of illegal force and violence by a non-state actor to attain a political, economic, religious, or social goal through fear, coercion, or intimidation.” The U.S. will invest somewhere between $4 and 6 trillion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with untold additional resources spent on anti-terrorism efforts elsewhere, according to the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. While we haven't suffered any major terrorist...
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- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"In classrooms and everyday conversation, explanations of global warming hinge on the greenhouse gas effect. In short, climate depends on the balance between two different kinds of radiation: The Earth absorbs incoming visible light from the sun, called “shortwave radiation,” and emits infrared light, or “longwave radiation,” into space. Upsetting that energy balance are rising levels of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), that increasingly absorb some of the outgoing longwave radiation and trap it in the atmosphere. Energy accumulates in the climate system, and warming occurs. But in a paper out this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, MIT researchers show that this canonical view of global warming is only half the story. In computer modeling of Earth’s climate under elevating CO2 concentrations, the greenhouse gas effect does indeed lead to global warming. Yet something puzzling happens: While one would expect the longwave radiation that escapes...
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- daveeza
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"Dubbed “Dementia Village” by CNN, Hogewey is a cutting-edge elderly-care facility—roughly the size of 10 football fields—where residents are given the chance to live seemingly normal lives. With only 152 inhabitants, it’s run like a more benevolent version of The Truman Show, if The Truman Show were about dementia and Alzheimer’s patients. Like most small villages, it has its own town square, theater, garden, and post office. Unlike typical villages, however, this one has cameras monitoring residents every hour of every day, caretakers posing in street clothes, and only one door in and out of town, all part of a security system designed to keep the community safe. Friends and family are encouraged to visit. Some come every day. Last year, CNN reported that residents at Hogewey require fewer medications, eat better, live longer, and appear more joyful than those in standard elderly-care facilities."
- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"“They’re not being treated well,” Blais said of Canada’s war veterans. “The sacred obligation is not being fulfilled.” The coalition of veterans’ organizations say the government is not providing adequate health and retirement benefits for injured soldiers and those dealing with mental health issues. They’re also upset over the government’s recent move to close a number of Veterans’ Affairs offices around the country. Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino and his New Veterans Charter have been roundly criticized by advocacy groups for clawing back benefits once offered to Canadian veterans. Veterans’ advocates have slammed the New Veterans Charter for providing lump sum payments instead of pensions, and for failing to adequately support the families of those killed while serving their country. They also say Canada needs to do more for those suffering from war-related mental illnesses, like post-traumatic stress disorder."
- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"Two of the guilty banks – HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland – are British, and the latter is controlled by the taxpayer. While the forex markets do not touch as many people directly in the same way as Libor, they do play a key role in setting the values of foreign investments and the prices companies pay in their overseas dealings. None of that bothered the City traders concerned. Indeed what’s remarkable is how they formed small groups and gave themselves names like “the 3 musketeers”, “the A-team” and “1 dream, 1 team.” They sent each other messages, laced with four-letter language, that displayed a total contempt for their colleagues, clients and the rules. And for society at large. There is a wider point here, that those involved were boastful and arrogant to a degree that blows a hole in any claims by the banks that their organisations are staffed with folk who, while earning large sums of money, do care about the wider population, and do possess social consciences. Not according...
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- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"Desktop recording software ranges from poor quality and free to incredibly powerful and expensive. VLC manages to strike a balance between both. In our tests, it wasn't powerful enough to, say, screen record a movie. However, for showing someone a problem you're having on a computer or providing quick instructions on how to perform a task, it's more than enough. Under Media, click "Open Capture Device." Click the "Capture Mode" dropdown and select "Desktop." Modify the frame rate. 15 f/s will probably be good enough for desktop recording, though 30 may be required for more fast-paced movement. Click the dropdown arrow next to "Play" and select "Convert." In the "Profile" dropdown, choose MP4. At this step, you can click the tool icon to modify the settings of this profile. Here you can modify things like resolution or bitrate. We'll use the default settings for now, but you can come back here later if you need to tweak the final product. In the Destination box, choose a location to...
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- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"Desktop recording software ranges from poor quality and free to incredibly powerful and expensive. VLC manages to strike a balance between both. In our tests, it wasn't powerful enough to, say, screen record a movie. However, for showing someone a problem you're having on a computer or providing quick instructions on how to perform a task, it's more than enough. Under Media, click "Open Capture Device." Click the "Capture Mode" dropdown and select "Desktop." Modify the frame rate. 15 f/s will probably be good enough for desktop recording, though 30 may be required for more fast-paced movement. Click the dropdown arrow next to "Play" and select "Convert." In the "Profile" dropdown, choose MP4. At this step, you can click the tool icon to modify the settings of this profile. Here you can modify things like resolution or bitrate. We'll use the default settings for now, but you can come back here later if you need to tweak the final product. In the Destination box, choose a location to...
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- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"Who You Calling A Tranny? Doris fish love forever This is Doris Fish, San Francisco's pre-eminent drag queen in the 1980's. She died in 1991 from AIDS-related diseases. She was generous, flamboyant, kind, and ultra talented. Her charisma rating was off the top of the chart. She'd moved to San Francisco from Sydney, Australia—then (and some say now) the undisputed home of the world's most fabulous drag queens. Doris took me under her delightfully feathered wings. I was afraid of her raw sexuality, but bowled over by her courage. Doris was amused by my quest to become a real woman. I learned from Doris that in Australia, from the 1960's through the 1970's, most all of the male-to-female spectrum of gender outlaw began their transition in the fabulous world of sexy, over-the top drag performance. Like me in the late 80’s in San Francisco, the majority of MTF transsexuals just wanted to live their lives as closely as possible to whatever their notion was of "a real woman." They...
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- daveeza
from Bookmarklet

"When the trial's results were broken down by disease type, the vaccine offered a 95.5 percent protection against the most severe form of dengue during the 25-month period following vaccination. But that result wasn’t replicated for dengue serotypes I and II — less severe forms of dengue — where the efficacy rates were 50.3 percent and 42.3 percent, respectively. Still, Bernal says, "the study shows conclusive efficacy against each of the four dengue serotypes, including serotype II, which is indeed at the lower end compared to the other three serotypes." Overall, the results were very similar to those found in previous trials. The researchers who conducted the first large clinical trial found that the vaccine was 56.6 percent effective against dengue, whereas results from a second clinical trial found that the vaccine reduced the incidence of dengue by 60.8 percent. When the second trial’s results were released, Scott Halstead, scientific adviser to the nonprofit Dengue Vaccine...
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- daveeza
from Bookmarklet